Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a 17th century draper’s apprentice, used lenses to examine the threads of fabrics he was working with. This spurred an interest in lens making and what would be the creation of the first simple microscope. He started examining microorganisms and tissue samples and writing down his findings. On this date in 1683, he recorded finding bacteria. He also wrote about protozoa, which he called animalcules, and described seeing red blood cells and made detailed studies of capillary circulation. He made more than 247 microscopes, some of which were able to magnify objects 270 times. In recognition of his work, he was elected to the Royal Society of England. He died in 1723 at the age of 91.

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